


Castrovalva

by orphan_account



Category: Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: Other, Serial: s116: Castrovalva, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:47:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24631804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Adric is tortured by the master.
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

Everything had happened so fast.

The Doctor had mentioned regeneration to him only once before, in passing, and although Adric tried to explain it, he wasn't sure Teegan and Nyssa entirely understood. They gave him a dazed look, then grasped The Doctor by the arms as they helped him back to the TARDIS. And it _was_ the Doctor, of course; they had all been present for the change, there was no question of it, no matter how unbelievable.

Local law enforcement wanted answers, of course, but Adric was well-practised in the art of running from the authorities. At least, that's what he'd thought. These officers were better-fed than those on Alzarius, and more suited to sustained pursuit. As the women ran ahead with The Doctor, one of the officers caught hold of Adric's arms, and attempted to detain him.

In the chaos, he couldn't quite make out what had happened. A cylinder- the Master's TARDIS, he had seen it on Logopolis- appeared above them, and struck the ground with some sort of blast. The air was solvent, electric, and an acrid stench seared its way into his lungs. The policemen collapsed on the ground around him, and he found himself kneeling directly beneath the cylinder. He looked up, as Nyssa helped the Doctor through the TARDIS doors, and breathed a sigh of relief. The Doctor was injured, but fine.

It was then that the cylinder materialised around him without warning. Darkness filled his vision, embroidered with the briefest flashes of metal. He thought- or maybe dreamed- that a pair of hands grabbed him. At first, he thought it might have been a police officer, but the arms that held him were weaker, more slender. He should have been able to resist. He cried out, elbowed his assailant in the chest, but they only held on tighter. They had the advantage; Adric was dazed, the struggle was over quickly. They held a cloth over his nose and mouth, soaked with a pungent liquid that made his eyes heavy.

And yet...

He was back outside the TARDIS again. He stumbled, and fell into the dirt, as Teegan and Nyssa ran back towards him.

"The Master!" Nyssa exclaimed, pointing to the cylinder behind him, and he frowned. He wanted to say something, but the thought was tugged away. Teegan pulled him to his feet, and they ran. Upon entering The TARDIS, they shut the doors firmly behind them, and Adric turned to observe the Master's vessel from the TARDIS telescreen.

He braced himself against the console, as the women dashed about the control room behind him. The Master was watching them, waiting, but for what?

"Ah!" he grimaced, and placed a hand to his left temple. The merest flash of an image crossed his mind. He was standing in the same dark room as before, only this time, there were more metallic beams surrounding him, interwoven, like a web. Pained, he tried to turn his head, but something held him in place, tethered. His limbs were bound, too- legs parted beneath him, arms too, above his head. He tried to move, but couldn't. He was standing, but not quite. He closed his eyes as he tried to make sense of it-

And stood in the TARDIS, frozen in place. He blinked. The memory slipped away, like sand between his fingers, and his eyebrows knitted together in frustration.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Nyssa. She stared at him, her mouth opening, but he couldn't quite hear the words. It was like she was far away. She grasped both shoulders, and shook him firmly.

"... Dric? Adric!" She yelled. He blinked, and nodded numbly.

"Here... I'm here," he said, not quite convinced of the sentiment himself.

Nyssa tilted her head, her eyes scanning his face. He was perhaps unnaturally pale, but she pushed the doubt aside. They didn't have time for the luxury of concern. She turned immediately to the TARDIS console.

"I need your help to fly it," she clarified, gesturing to the buttons and dials. Adric glanced across at The Doctor, who was crouched in a ball on the floor, seemingly in a worse shape than all of them. His stomach clenched. He nodded, and together, they orchestrated a rudimentary take-off. As the telescreen faded to black, Adric recalled his earlier vision, and his hand clenched tighter around the console lever.

Unseen by them, the Master's TARDIS dematerialised too.


	2. Chapter 2

Adric existed in two places at once. One moment, metal wires pinned him down, poking into his mind, and the next, he was back on the TARDIS, hand frozen over the console. It happened over a matter of minutes, and no one else in the console room seemed to notice; they were too busy tending to The Doctor.

A few times, Teegan looked over to Adric as he stood there, unresponsive. She assumed the boy was just lost in thought. After all, the events of the past few hours were highly confusing; she could barely make sense of them herself, and, out of all of them, he had known the Doctor for the longest.

"That boy hasn't once said thank you," Teegan said to herself in wonderment. He was a curious child- indeed, both of them were, for Nyssa was not much older. For all she knew, this meditation was a kind of alien ritual; all of her co-pilots, including the Doctor, were apparently 'humanoid, but not human'. She hadn't really had time to contemplate that one, until now.

Nyssa had told her that her aunt was dead- one stroke with The Master's miniaturisation beam was all it took- but, despite the evidence of her own eyes, Teegan could scarcely believe it. How could she? She had been trapped in this spaceship for a matter of hours, and introduced to an impossible world of time travel and chaos, and she desperately wanted to return home- but what was home without her aunt? If she was truly gone-

She desperately craved answers, but the only man who could answer them was currently lying unconscious on the floor.

*

  
Adric gasped in pain. It was like emerging from water, yet the burden of sluggishness still remained. His body was a deadweight beneath him, as he strained with effort. He looked sideways.

  
Black leather gloves deftly attached something to either side of his head, sharp wires that twisted, and dug into his skin. He tried to speak, to cry out, but only managed a grunt. He made eye contact with the figure, who gave him a devilish grin. Triumphant. Possessive.

His throat contracted, and he struggled to breathe. He pushed his head back to accomplish this laborious task, and his captor gave a soft chuckle. His vision swam in and out of focus. A bearded man, with dark-grey hair, watched him with amusement. He drove one of the wires further into his skull, and Adric saw stars- literal stars. For a moment, the cosmos swam in and out of view. He gasped, and struggled against his bonds with clenched fists.

"You-" He choked, and his knees buckled beneath him. It made little difference; the wires held him suspended like a puppet, and he dangled on their thread. He screamed silently, although it felt as if his spine was on fire. He locked eyes with the man again, pleading, accusing, and wordlessly begged for release.

His captor barked with amusement.

"Forgive the intrusion, Adric, but I have to borrow your mind," the man crooned, and placed a hand on his cheek in mock tenderness.

Tears in his eyes, Adric struggled, and tried to scream.

They were in the Master's TARDIS. It all flooded back to him now. The Master ignored Adric's flails, and observed his protests keenly.

"No," Adric grunted, and kicked his legs out, which only entangled him further. The wire cut into his thighs and ankles, and he cried out. Frozen in place by pain, he could hear the Master chuckling.

"Stay still," he commanded. Adric scowled, but went limp. As he lay there, he caught his breath, and The Master unravelled him with surprising carefulness. There was a thud as his feet found the floor again, and Adric shifted his weight and eyed him grudgingly.

"Are you familiar with _Block Transfer Computation?"_ The Master drawled, and twisted a dial on his remote control. As he did so, a ringing sound grew louder in his ear, and Adric winced.

"No... Obviously," he hissed, and turned his head away. The Master disabled the remote with a smirk.

"It's Time Lord science," he explained. "Though rarely is it used on lesser beings. You should feel honoured, really," he said, without a hint of irony. Adric narrowed his eyes. "Now," the Master continued. "Show me the Doctor."

"I don't know what you mean," Adric said evasively. He was cut off by the sound of his own voice, screaming.

"I think you do," the Master said, and released him with a grin.

The voltage ceased, and Adric panted, shallowly. He pressed his head against the wire in front of him, and contemplated what to do. _Play dumb_. He squinted at the Master. "How?"

The Master smirked. His hand twitched on the remote. A small jolt of electricity passed through Adric, and he found himself back in the TARDIS. Before he could protest what he was doing, he walked over to the console, and began to input some co-ordinates.


End file.
